I'd Like the World to Buy a Coke

In this summary you will learn

• How Roberto Goizueta, former CEO of Coca Cola, grew up in Cuba
• What triumphs and disasters accompanied his laborious climb up the corporate ladder
• Why introducing “New Coke” was a mistake

getAbstract rating

Why you should read I'd Like the World to Buy a Coke

This is a good business biography. The author has an eye for the interesting detail - such as the fact that the future chairman of Coca-Cola and the future Yankee-hating Communist leader Fidel Castro went to the same elite Cuban private school. He also has a good understanding of the business issues that Roberto Goizueta addressed during his remarkably successful career. This is not a hagiography or an "authorized" biography. In fact, author David Griesing reports that Goizueta opposed the book project and directed his friends and the public relations department of Coca-Cola not to cooperate. Remarkably, in the face of that opposition, the author not only persevered but also produced a book that seems scrupulously objective. If it is not a paen, neither is it a hatchet job. It’s the real thing, and getAbstract.com finds it well worth reading and recommending.

About the Author

David Greising is a business columnist at the Chicago Tribune and former Atlanta bureau chief of BusinessWeek magazine. He covered Goizueta and Coca-Cola from 1994 to 1998. He is also author of Brokers, Bagmen & Moles: Fraud and Corruption in the Chicago Futures Market.